The Same Yet Different
by felix-flower
Summary: After receiving a letter from Ron in which he pronounces his love for her, Hermione must deal with her homosexual attractions, and maybe even come out of the closet.
1. Chapter 1

"Hermione‽ Hermione, an owl's here for you!"

She set down Break with a Banshee and went downstairs and into the kitchen. There she found a gray mess of a bird flopped on the kitchen counter. She untied the letter from Errol's leg and shooed the massive bird out.

"Mom, it's gone" she called into the living room as she walked back up the stairs into her room. Hermione loved her room; it was an escape from the blinding all-whiteness of the rest of the house. She had painted it a deep brown just for this reason. Hermione put the letter on her wooden desk and opened it. _It was very short _she noticed before she actually read it. She gasped and closed her eyes. Hermione sank into the chair and put her head into her hands. _This can't be happening_. A lump rose in her throat, and she fought it for a while, but eventually it overcame her, and her world went blurry. Her tears fell on the parchment, all over the words he had printed so unknowingly, with no way of knowing what it would do to her.

_"I love you"_


	2. Chapter 2

There were so very many memories that came to her, all these moments of joy and fear and shame she had tried to keep locked up inside, because that way it'd be so much easier to deny. And denial would make life easier for everyone, everyone but her when those _thoughts _came flooding back.

Hermione was in her second year, right in the beginning, the second day, and Hermione could be found in front of the fireplace in the common room. It was a bitterly cold evening and a light rain was pattering against the castle. A ginger head and a blonde one popped through the portal.

"This is the Gryffindor Common Room. Wait right here, Ron wouldn't like you in his dorm" Hermione looked up and laid her eyes on a girl about her age. She was cradling a magazine in her arms, nodding her head in genial agreement to whatever was written within the colorful covers. Hermione felt a flutter of panic- what was this feeling? Was she suspicious? Was it good-natured fondness? If Hermione hadn't known any better, she would have called it love.

The girl skipped through the sea of chairs towards Hermione. _If the rain was any softer, the girl would be able to hear her heart thumping_ Hermione thought. She stopped in front of the fire, directly beside Hermione. Part of Hermione wanted her to leave, and another was desperate to have her close. But once the girl said "May I sit here" and gestured toward the chair that was almost touching her own, she couldn't help but say "Oh yeah, of course, yeah" and nod her head wildly, so wildly that the book she had been reading fell to the ground. The girl hadn't noticed. She was busy kneeling before the fire, watching it dance.

The girl, after staring into the fire for what seemed like hours to Hermione, said "I'm Luna, you're Hermione Granger, the smartest witch in your class, and bravest too"

"How…?" Hermione stuttered

"Ginny told me" she said, still staring into the fire. "You know, these flames keep almost straight up but they move. And they wobble and they speak. It'd be nice to know what they were saying, wouldn't it, Hermione Granger?"

"Yes, of course. That would be nice. I would like that." Luna turned, smiled at her, and sat in the seat. She opened the magazine, and began the rhythmic head bobbing. Hermione saw what it was. "Why would you ever bother to read that rubbish?" Luna looked up, hurt and confusion on her face.

"Do you mean my Quibbler?"

Hermione was incredibly flustered. "No, I was actually talking about-"

Luna was crestfallen, and turned her face away. "I thought you were different" she choked, and turned to face Hermione. "I guess not". A bittersweet smile played at her lips, and she shook her head. She stormed out the Common Room, knocking over a desk in her blubbering fury.

A/N: I didn't know people actually read the first part! I will be updating regularly from now on, so check back often and _review_!


End file.
